Star Refrigeration has introduced a brand-new sustainable salary sacrifice scheme for all of its employees in partnership with Lex Autolease.

The business is headquartered in Glasgow with nearly 400 employees – all of whom are eligible for the new EV-only salary sacrifice scheme

The business is headquartered in Glasgow with a fleet of over 150 vehicles and nearly 400 employees – all of whom are eligible for the new salary sacrifice scheme.

Implemented to start this month, the scheme only makes pure EVs available to staff, such as the Hyundai Kona Electric, Kia e-Niro and Tesla Model 3.

This includes non-fleet drivers, helping them switch to eco-friendly vehicles too – marked out as a first among Lex Autolease customers in Scotland. Star Refrigeration aims to have all colleagues driving sustainable vehicles by 2030.

Employees are also able to use the scheme to set up a second car for partners or family members for those households still requiring multiple vehicles.

In addition to the new salary sacrifice scheme, Lex Autolease has helped Star Refrigeration switch its fleet to a whole-life cost policy – helping to cut costs further and building on the firms’ existing 15-year relationship.

Star Refrigeration had already started to deploy EVs last year in partnership with Lex Autolease. Seven of the eight Tesla Model 3 EVs ordered have already been delivered and are driven by senior managers and members of the sales team. And a further 26 vehicles on its fleet are alternatively fuelled.

The introduction of the new EV-only sal sac scheme comes after Star Refrigeration signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in March, which defines and promotes best practice in emissions reductions and net-zero targets in line with climate science. The business is currently outlining its emissions reduction targets and is working with Lex Autolease to ensure its fleet can play a major role in its decarbonisation.

David Pearson, group sustainable development director at Star Refrigeration, said: “Reducing our customers’ cooling-related emissions has always been vital for us as a business. Now thanks to Lex Autolease, we also have a plan in place to ensure our vehicles are on the right road to net-zero.

“The Lex Autolease team has played an integral role in laying the policy foundations that in time will see 100% of our fleet become fully electric. We recognise the need to make fewer journeys but those we must make will be as clean as possible.

“The salary sacrifice scheme helps us broaden this progress to other members of our teams’ families. We’re hoping for a fossil fuel free society as quickly as possible, and by insisting on 100% EV where viable, we’ll do what we can to increase the subsequent second-hand market. Plus, any cost savings mean that we can look to make investments in other sustainable initiatives across the business.”